Puppy School

Establish a lifetime of good manners, confidence, and socialisation with Puppy School

Not All Puppy Schools Are The Same!

Puppy school should teach your puppy essential social and life skills, not just obedience cues. Most puppies need to learn proper play manners and build confidence by interacting with dogs that don’t look or act like their siblings. This is best achieved in a controlled environment, supervised by a dog behaviour professional. Proper puppy socialisation is so much more than just letting your dog see other dogs or greet them on a leash. It’s not something that can be done at a dog park or by doggie daycare.

At Canine Counselling, we know you want your puppy to be confident, well-adjusted, and polite, as well as trained in basic obedience. Thatโ€™s why our puppy school prioritises socialisation and dog interactions, not just obedience training.

When choosing a puppy school, ensure the answer to each question below is ‘YES.’ If you have any questions about why these factors are critical to your puppyโ€™s success, feel free to contact Mark for a chat.

  • Does the instructor have formal, ongoing dog training qualifications?
  • Is it taught in a dedicated learning space, away from onlookers and distractions?
  • Is there a minimum of 6 square meters per puppy for proper distancing and play space?
  • Is there a balance of on-lead and off-lead periods, with at least 50% off-lead?
  • Are class sizes limited to 3-5 puppies?
  • Is the age limit clearly defined and enforced to ensure all the puppies are at similar developmental stages?
  • Do clients rave about the puppy school on independent review sites like Google?
calm puppy chewing toy bone

What’s Included

Eight to sixteen weeks is a crucial period for your puppy, especially for socialisation. Working with your puppy from an early age helps prevent reactivity, mitigate fearfulness, and promote receptiveness in the future. The Canine Counselling puppy school curriculum covers four primary factors, including:

puppies running in field

Socialisation

The puppy school program allows socialisation in a controlled, instructor-led environment to build your puppyโ€™s confidence around other canines. Shy puppies will learn to make puppy friends at their own pace, without being overwhelming. At the same time, over-exuberant puppies will learn some play manners and avoid becoming bullies.

Basic Behaviours

Canine Counselling teaches you to instil basic behaviours and obedience to prompts like sit, drop, come, loose-lead walking, and more. Learning the basics of how to teach and communicate with your puppy will set you up for a lifetime of learning.

Preventing & Redirecting

Our puppy school helps you redirect and prevent negative behaviours like nipping, jumping, and barking, creating better habits in their place.

Helpful Hints

As you progress through puppy school, Mark shares insightful information to help new dog owners handle their puppies. He will do his best to answer any questions you have along the way.

Reserve Your Spot In The Next Puppy School

Course Cost

  • $290 Per Puppy
  • 5 Week Course
  • 2 Family Members Included

Note: Additional family members may join depending on the available space

Location

Rosebery Vet Hospital

Classes are held on location at Rosebery Veterinary Hospital. Please see the addresses and maps below. Classes are strictly limited to 3-5 puppies to ensure a safe and controlled environment while providing socialisation benefits for each puppy.

Address

Rosebery Veterinary Hospital: 112 Rothschild Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018

PUPPY TRAINING

Upcoming Classes

Puppy School

January 8, 2025 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

5 week puppy school prioritising puppy socialisation and interactions.

 

 

Puppy School

January 12, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

5 week puppy school prioritising puppy socialisation and interactions.

 

 

Fine Print

Deposit required at time of booking. The full course fee is payable at the first class (cash, credit card, bank transfer) and is non-refundable after the first class.

Puppies must be 14 weeks old or younger at the first class and have proof of current vaccination status.

Note: Puppies do NOT have to have completed their full vaccination course to participate in the class. See links at top of the page for further details. Mark encourages owners to complete their second vaccination on or before the class start date.

Even if you have had puppies before, or are familiar with dogs, puppy school can provide valuable benefits. Puppy socialisation cannot be done at your home, and should be done in a controlled environment with similar aged puppies. A closely supervised puppy school, run by a behaviour professional is the perfect environment for your puppy to interact with other puppies. Even if you have had puppies before, you may learn new things from attending a puppy school. The world of dog training is constantly evolving, and Mark of Canine Counselling keeps up to date with the latest best practice Puppy School advice and methods.
The Canine Counselling puppy school is five weeks long with weekly sessions. Meeting weekly for puppy school allows us to progress through the curriculum while allowing time to practice each principal. The training will last indefinitely if the owners continue working with their canine. Canine Counselling teaches owners how to train their puppies instead of instilling discipline. Once the course has been completed and positive habits are created, youโ€™ll have all the skills necessary to maintain positive behaviour and continue to build confidence in your puppy.
Puppy school is one of the best investments dog owners can make. Training your puppy will provide weekly socialisation, build confidence, stimulate mental development, and most of all, instil good behaviours and manners. While it can be difficult to teach your energetic puppy to pay attention and learn new skills, itโ€™s well worth the time and cost to have a companion that is well-behaved, confident, and social. Itโ€™s imperative to continue following the dog trainerโ€™s advice after the course is finished to see long-lasting and compounding results from puppy school.
If your puppy has missed the age cut-off, Mark can offer one-on-one training in your home. Although you will not get the same socialisation benefits, you and your puppy can receive personalised advice specific to your environment and layout. Please see the Private Training page for more details on private consultations.
If you feel a class environment may be too challenging for your puppy, or you want personalised advice tailored to you and your puppy, Mark also offers private in-home training. This can include the whole family, and Mark can help advice the best set-up for your home to set everyone up for success as the puppy matures.